Batt O'Keeffe (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Section 26(1) of the Wildlife Act 1976, as amended, provides that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government may grant to the master or other person in charge of a pack of stag hounds, a licence authorising the hunting of deer by that pack during such period or periods as is or are specified in the licence. Under this provision, licences have been issued annually to the Ward Union Hunt on a long-standing basis, subject to appropriate conditions.

Legal advice was obtained through the Office of Attorney General in 1999 which confirmed the long-standing interpretation of section 26 that it provides for the licensing of carted deer hunting irrespective of the status of the deer, wild or captive. In view of this, it is not relevant to the exercise of this licensing function to determine whether the deer are wild or captive and it would be inappropriate to seek to administer licensing on the basis of this distinction.

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